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Menthol Cigarettes

Menthol cigarettes are flavored with menthol, which triggers the cold-sensitive nerves in the skin.

Menthol has a cooling and anesthetic (or pain killing) effect. This also decreases the cough reflex and can soothe the dry throat feeling that many smokers have. As a result, menthol smokers may inhale more deeply, hold the smoke in the lungs longer, and get more exposure to the dangerous chemicals in cigarette smoke.

National survey data showed that in 2006, 43.8 percent of current smokers aged 12-17 years reported using menthol cigarettes, compared to 35.6 percent of smokers aged 18 to 24 years and 30.6 percent of smokers older than 35 years.

Menthol products accounted for approximately one-fifth of the United States cigarette market in 2006.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health: Atlanta, GA 2004.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health: Atlanta, GA 2006.